In the present mode for operating the public telephone network, payment for a telephone call may be made through a variety of methods. A telephone call may be paid for by depositing coinage into a telecommunications device. Alternatively, by placing a collect call, a called party agrees to pay the charges associated with the telephone call. When placing a calling card call, a calling party provides an account number to which the cost associated with the telephone call will be charged. Calling card calls may be made, for example, using calling cards, credit cards and debit cards. By obtaining third party billing, a third party agrees to pay the charges associated with a telephone call between a back party and a front party.
Because of the large number of choices by which a telephone call may be paid for, some users of telecommunications devices may be confused as to the proper operation of such devices. Specifically, some such calls are prefixed by dialing digit "1". Other such calls may need to be prefixed by dialing digit "0". In still further situations, the use of a prefix will prevent proper completion of a call. Thus, the user of a telecommunications device may be confused as to the proper operation of the device.